Take This Night
by NotThatIWillEverWriteIt
Summary: "I came to this aquarium as a child. Back then it opened if we came at night." Related chapters: 273 274 (252) IMPLIED QIUCHENG


The gravel of the driveway crunched under the tires and the bright headlights swept the dark deserted yard as the car rounded in front of the house. They came to a stop with a smooth jerk, and rumble of the idling engine deepened its vibration against He Cheng's back.

"How's your hand?" he asked.

Qiu glanced at his bruised knuckles and flexed his fingers tentatively.

"Fine. I'll just put some ice on it."

"You did good tonight. I'm sure father will be pleased."

Qiu nodded. "You're late."

He Cheng glanced at the massive house looming silently in the darkness and sighed. "I know."

"I'll pick you up tomorrow at six?"

"You're not gonna stay the night?"

Qiu shifted in his seat and stared at the steering wheel. "I think we should put some distance – you know. People will start talking."

"You let me worry about them. Besides, it's his birthday. I'm sure he's been waiting to see you, too."

When Qiu remained silent, He Cheng played his trump card. "Come at least have some cake. Triple chocolate."

Qiu's thin lips curved the slightest, and he reached to kill the engine. "Fine, you twisted my arm."

An older petite maid in greys was greeting them quietly in the hallway. With a subtle bow she took the jacket He Cheng handed to her but ignored Qiu when he nodded his greeting. It wasn't costumery for the staff to come and go through the front of the house, and even though she knew better than to say anything out loud she clearly disapproved.

"Welcome home, sir," she said.

"Is he in bed?"

"Yes. He was adamant about waiting for you to return but fell asleep on the couch some time ago. He even refused to change into his pajamas."

"The party must've worn him out? Did he have a good time?"

The woman cast her eyes down and wrung her hands. "I'm afraid the guests from his class couldn't come, sir."

He Cheng's face darkened, and he stiffened in the middle of loosening the top button of his shirt. "And why's that?"

"Apparently, there is a stomach flu going on," she said and wouldn't meet his sharp stare. "They all had to cancel."

He snorted. "Yeah, I bet. Is father home yet?"

"No, sir."

So, yet another birthday with the nanny. Guilt ached in He Chen's chest, and he tried to subdue it in vain. With a long sigh, he rubbed his face and brushed the few stray locks of hair that had escaped back in their rightful place on top of his head.

"Make us some tea and get something cold for his hand," he said to the maid. "I'll go check on He Tian."

"Hey," Qiu stopped him mid-step before he could leave. "There's something on your…," he mumbled and nodded at He Cheng's arm.

There were brown copper splatters on his right sleeve. Quickly he unbuttoned the cufflink and rolled the stains out of sight.

"Thanks."

A thin beam of light from the hallway pierced through the darkness of He Tian's bedroom when He Cheng cracked the door open. For a while, he remained in the doorway and just listened to the soft silence. Careful not to stumble on the toys scattered on the floor he made his way in and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed. The wooden frame creaked, and he cringed.

In the middle of the plump pillows and fluffy blanket bundled aside was nestled a little black-haired boy sound asleep, still in his T-shirt and pants. His mouth – stained with chocolate frosting – was open slightly, and his deep breathing sounded satisfying in a way that He Cheng couldn't quite explain. He was about to fix the blanket when he spotted a familiar looking green-blue pamphlet in He Tian's hand and froze.

Some time ago he had come home from school, wide-eyed and full of excitement. They had been learning about oceans, and sharks had instantly become He Tian's obsession. His little boy's mind was completely fascinated by the beasts, and for weeks all he had wanted to read before bed were thick non-fiction books about them with big colorful pictures.

When it had turned out the local aquarium had a shark exhibition, He Tian had declared that's all he wanted for his birthday and bugged He Cheng about it until he had promised to take him on his birthday.

He really had been late, hadn't he?

Maybe you've made enough promises you know you can't keep, the crumbled, worn-out pamphlet accused him mutely when he carefully pulled it out of He Tian's limp hand.

"Next time," he whispered knowing fully well it was only to ease his own guilty conscience.

He tucked the blanket over the bony shoulders and gently stroked the messy black hair damp with night sweat. There was a faint frown between the dark brows, but otherwise, the sleep remained peaceful. In case he woke up later, He Cheng reached for the night lamp on the table and turned it on with a soft click. It lit the room with dull red light and cast white little dancing dots on the walls.

He was almost out the door when the creak of the bed and rustling of the sheets stopped him on his tracks.

"Brother?" came a sleep-thick voice behind his back. He Tian was sitting up in the messy bed and rubbing his eyes in the light. "You're back?"

"Yeah," He Cheng said quietly wishing to get ahead before He Tian woke up any further. "Go back to sleep now, I'll see you in the morning."

"Is dad home, too?"

"He had to stay at the office. But he told me to wish you a happy birthday. Now, back to bed."

Instead of that, He Tian wiggled out from under the blanket, and He Cheng suppressed his tired sigh.

"Can we go see the fish now? The sharks?"

"It's too late. The aquarium is closed by now."

"But you _promised_." The little shoulders slumped, and mouth pursed into a pout. "You said you'd take me on my birthday."

"I know, but something came up. We'll go next time."

"But I wanna go _today_. Today's my – " A slight tremble crept into He Tian's voice, and his lower lip began to quiver. " – my b-birthday, and – and I waited t-the whole day and n-no – no one…"

He Tian's eyes pooled, and a couple of fat tears that only a child could shed rolled down his cheeks. The need to protect and comfort flared up in He Cheng, and he sat on the bed again and wiped the wetness with his thumbs. But He Tian glared at him through the tears and pushed his hands away.

"You _lied_."

"We'll go next weekend, okay?"

"You promised," He Tian mumbled and clumsily dried his face on his T-shirt that also seemed to have its share of the chocolate frosting. "We're never gonna go, are we?"

Someone cleared their throat, and He Cheng looked up from his crying brother. Qiu was standing at the doorway, a bit awkwardly with his hands buried in his pockets.

"We, uh, we could still go there," he said. "The aquarium."

"It's the middle of the night, we're – "

"Really!? Can we really go? Tonight?" He Tian suddenly revived and bounced up. His tear-sparkling eyes were glued to Qiu at the door, and the older man shifted under the hopeful gaze.

"It's up to your brother," he said with a shrug.

"Please, brother, please." He Cheng's forearm was suddenly in a vice-like grip, and the pleading red-rimmed eyes took him aback a little. When he didn't say anything, He Tian hurried to bargain. "You can eat all the cake and – and I'll, uh, I'll clean up my room and…and do all my homework tomorrow! I promise!"

He Cheng glanced at Qiu at the door – _this better work out_ – and sighed. "Fine," he said. "But you're going straight to bed when we come back."

"I will!" He Tian bounced off the bed and wrapped his little arms behind He Cheng's neck for a quick hug before he rushed out of the room. "We're going, we're going!" Echoed his chanting from the hallway. "We're _going_!"

"Should I be suspicious of this?" He Cheng said and squinted his eyes at Qiu.

"Don't worry, the group won't be mixed into this. I know a guy. Who knows a guy who knows the manager of the place. He owes me one."

The staff was understandably confused when he told them they were going out. The only one who gave a little smile was the woman in greys as she wiped He Tian's chocolate mouth clean and ushered him to wear his jacket because the night was cold. Meanwhile, Qiu was on the phone. He looked slightly annoyed but gave He Cheng a thumbs-up when their eyes met.

"It should be fine," he said and ended the call. "The manager will meet you there."

"Qiu ge, you're not coming with us?" He Tian sounded disappointed.

"Nah, I should head home."

"But I wanna show you the sharks!"

"Yeah, come on," He Cheng said and trapped He Tian still so he could wrap a scarf around his bare neck. "It was your idea."

"But – "

"I'm sure father will pay you for the overtime."

Qiu's face flattened. "I don't care about that."

"Then let's go. Or do you have a hot date or something?"

"Shut up," Qiu growled and avoided He Cheng's eyes but offered no further resistance.

At the aquarium, they were received by a short chubby man in a cheap suit waiting for them at the main entrance. His voice was thin and high when he greeted them over eagerly with a deep bow. Nervously his eyes bounced between He Cheng and Qiu, and he kept adjusting his tie constantly.

"All the sections are at your disposal. Just as agreed," he said and glanced at Qiu. "Would you – uh, would you like me to accompany you?"

"There's no need," He Cheng said. "We'll find you when we're done."

"Certainly," the man said with an obvious sigh of relief and dipped into another deep bow. A trickle of sweat was running down the man's temple despite the coldness of the night. "I'll leave you to it then. Excuse me." He bowed once again before turning on his heels and stiffly walking away.

The entrance lobby of the aquarium was spacious and had a high ceiling with sky windows. Everywhere were arrows and signposts to different exhibitions and halls, and He Cheng warned He Tian not to wander off by himself. Being the only visitors was a bit eerie, and their voices and steps echoed in the deserted emptiness.

He Tian made a beeline for the shark exhibition and towed He Cheng by his hand. Qiu followed them silently. Soon after the entrance lobby the hallway narrowed and lowered as it dived under a huge aquarium that surrounded the visitors everywhere. The hall wasn't fully lit which only enhanced the almost dream-like blue-green glimmer of the water. If He Cheng had been claustrophobic it would have been very uncomfortable to know that thousands of tons of water were above him separated only by glass.

Fishes of all shapes, sizes, and colors swam in the blue-green vast. Some by themselves, some in small schools. Their scale covered sides glittered as they suddenly jerked and changed direction.

"Where are the sharks?" He Tian asked and glued his nose against the glass. "Are they sleeping?"

"Just keep looking, I'm sure they'll show up," He Cheng said and took a seat on one of the benches in the middle of the hall. Qiu joined him and conjured a lighter and a wrinkled pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.

"You can't smoke here." He Cheng nodded at the sign. "Where have I seen that manager before?"

"He likes to bet on horses. Too bad he's not really good at it," Qiu said and crammed the cigarette he'd fished out back in the package with a frown.

"Just horses?" He Cheng glanced at Qiu out of the corner of his eye. "Nothing else?"

"Well, I think he comes to the clubs, too."

"How regularly?"

"I said this won't affect the business. If I say that's how it is, then that's how it is."

He Cheng watched his brother being completely in awe by the fishes and struggling to decide what to focus on. His neck craned as he followed one fish with long, thin fins under its belly swimming over their heads. Against the sheer size of the body of water, his black little boy's silhouette seemed powerless and insignificant.

"It's not the business I'm worried about."

"I know," Qiu said quietly.

"How much do I owe you for this?"

"Nothing. I just cashed in a favor."

"Father will – "

"I told you, I don't care about that."

He Cheng chuckled darkly. "Be careful, Qiu _ge_ , your kind heart might cost you one day."

Suddenly He Tian yelled out and jumped back from the glass. Out of nowhere a silver-grey shark with white underside and pointed snout silently appeared into the light. The smaller fishes lurched to safety out of its way as it glided across the tank.

He Cheng got up to his feet and joined his brother. The shark was smaller than he had expected but plenty big enough to be deadly. With a swift kick of its tail, it turned around and swam before them again, this time closer to the glass. He Cheng caught a glimpse its staring eyes that twitched in their sockets, and a chill ran down his back. He had never seen anything so beautiful and terrifying.

"Whoah," He Tian breathed in awe and ventured closer to the glass again as the initial fright quickly gave away to fascination and curiosity. His little shoulders were so stiff they almost reached his ears. "Brother, look."

"I know."

"What kinda shark is that?"

"Shouldn't you be the expert?"

He Tian stared at the fish for a while. "I think it's a blacktip shark. Look, it has black on its tail and fins! I saw it in a book once. I wonder if it's a boy or girl."

"I don't know."

"Is it gonna eat those other fishes?" He Tian sounded somewhere between excited and hesitant.

"I doubt that. They probably feed the sharks with other food."

"Can we come next time when they're feeding them?"

He Cheng pictured the muscular shark shaking its prey in its teeth, shredding and tearing the carcass apart and chunks and flakes of white fish flesh floating in the water.

"We'll see."

"What's _that_?" He Tian perked up and pointed at something near the glass.

He Cheng leaned closer and saw a ball of some kind hiding under a fake trunk of a tree. Its red skin dotted with white spots was stretched tight, and its mouth kept opening and closing rapidly.

"It's a pufferfish."

"How did it do that?"

"It puffs up when it's scared. The other fish that might eat it leave it alone because it suddenly looks bigger. But it's just air, really."

"Wow." He Tian couldn't tear his eyes away from the red ball. "Would that shark eat it otherwise?"

"If the shark wanted to eat it, I doubt it would care about its size. It's much bigger than the pufferfish."

Peace and quiet returned as the shark went on its way. All the smaller fish that He Cheng just now realized had disappeared came back into the light again. Together they watched in silence as the tight ball of a fish begun to slowly deflate and shrink back to its fairly plain and small shape. Small warm fingers wrapped a hold of He Cheng's hand and tugged it slightly.

"Hey, can we buy a book that has those ball fishes in it?"

On the drive back home, He Tian went out like a light in the backseat. When He Cheng carried his limp body out of the car to the house, he mumbled something in his sleep, but the words were mere incoherent sounds. He didn't bother changing He Tian into his pajamas but just lowered him on his bed and tucked the blanket over the sleeping boy. Before leaving he once again turned on the night lamp and snuggled a little red pufferfish plushie with an angry glare he had bought from the aquarium shop under He Tian's arm.

"Happy birthday."

Almost a year later, when Qiu pressed a cold beer in his hand while they watched the little puppy sleep in a makeshift basket made out of an old cardboard box, He Cheng suddenly remembered their night at the aquarium. Patiently and quietly Qiu listened to him deep into the small hours. When He Cheng's head started nodding against his chest and he began more sentences than he managed to finish Qiu helped him to his unmade bed and tucked him in. The drunken slept like little children, and Qiu kept watch until the morning.


End file.
